Do the boring things. They are the ones that work.
Checklists and step-by-step guides for keeping a computer and a phone in good order - no products to buy, no scores, no rankings.
No products are ranked or recommended here, and nothing on this site is sponsored.
12
guides, none of them stubs
27
terms defined in plain language
0
adverts, trackers and sponsored links
11 Aug
everything last reviewed
Not sure where to begin?
Three ways in, depending on what brought you here.
Straight answers, before you go any further
Six questions worth settling first. Each one opens out into a guide that takes it step by step.
If I only do one thing today, what should it be?
Turn on a second factor for your email account. Email is the account that can reset all the others, so it is the one worth protecting first, and it takes about five minutes. Everything else on this site is worth doing after that.
Do I have to pay for security software?
Not to be protected. Both Windows and macOS include a scanner, a firewall and download checks, switched on and updating themselves. Paid products bundle convenience - one console for the family, a password manager, support - so the question is whether you want those, not whether you are exposed without them.
My backup drive is always plugged in. Is that a backup?
Against a failed disk, yes. Against ransomware, no - anything your computer can write to is something the encryption reaches too. A backup counts when it is disconnected, versioned or write-protected, and when you have restored a file from it at least once.
I clicked the link. What now?
Change the password for that account from a different device, sign out of every session, and check what was quietly changed: the recovery address, the forwarding rules, the connected apps. Changing the password alone undoes none of those, and a recovery address left in place keeps the door open.
Is the router really something I should worry about?
It is the one device every other device depends on, and the one almost nobody has opened since it was installed. A new administrator password, automatic firmware updates and remote administration switched off is most of the work, and it is a one-evening job you never repeat.
Is a factory reset enough before I sell a phone?
On any phone from the last decade, yes - the reset destroys the encryption key, which makes the remaining data unreadable. The step people miss is the account: sign out of it first, or the device stays locked to you and the buyer cannot activate it.
Do this now
The short list. None of it costs anything and all of it fits in an afternoon.
Checklist
A 20-minute security check-up
No software to buy. Work through these in order and you will have closed the gaps that account for most real-world compromises.
8 min read
Do this now
Setting up a password manager properly
The highest-value hour in personal security. Here is the order that avoids the usual mistakes.
7 min read
Do this now
Shopping and paying online without drama
Fraud protection is mostly about which payment method you use and what you check before you type a card number.
6 min read
Know what you are facing
The two attacks that account for most real-world trouble, and an honest look at what paying actually buys.
Threats
Ransomware: how it works, and what to do
The one category where what you did beforehand matters far more than anything you can do afterwards.
7 min read
Threats
How to spot phishing
Bad spelling stopped being the giveaway years ago. These are the checks that still work.
6 min read
Buying
Free vs paid security software: an honest comparison
The gap is not really about detection. It is about what else is in the box, and whether you want those things.
6 min read
Keep it running
The maintenance nobody schedules: the machine that has slowed down, the router nobody has opened, the phone in your pocket.
Maintenance
Speeding up a slow computer, honestly
Most slowness has three or four ordinary causes. None of them need software that promises to make your PC fast again.
7 min read
Maintenance
Securing your home router
The one device every other device depends on, and the one almost nobody has opened since it was installed.
6 min read
Mobile
Phone security without the theatre
Phones are attacked differently from computers, so the advice that works is different too - and it mostly is not about installing a scanner.
5 min read
When something goes wrong
Recovery. What to do the morning after, what a backup has to be to help, and how to hand a device on safely.
Recovery
What to do when an account is hacked
Order matters. Doing these in the wrong sequence lets the attacker undo your work while you are still doing it.
7 min read
Recovery
Backups that actually save you
Most people have something they call a backup. Rather fewer have one that would survive the situation it exists for.
6 min read
Recovery
Wiping a device properly before you sell it
Deleting files does not remove them. Here is what actually does, on each kind of device.
6 min read
The words, without the fog.
Security writing leans on jargon. 27 terms are defined here in plain language, and most link through to the guide that covers them.
- Authenticator app
- An app that generates time-based codes for signing in. Cannot be intercepted like SMS, but can still be phished.
- Backup
- A copy of your data that the problem cannot reach. A permanently connected drive is a second copy, not a backup.
- Breach
- An incident where a service's data is taken. Whether your password is exposed depends on how it was stored and how guessable it was.
- Chargeback
- The process for reversing a card payment. It is why card payments carry more protection than bank transfers.
- Cookie
- A small file a site stores in your browser. Necessary for staying signed in; also used for tracking across sites.
- Encryption at rest
- Storage that is encrypted when the device is off, so removing the drive does not reveal the contents.
How this is written
The rules this site holds itself to, so you can judge what you are reading.
Everything here is free to do
Not one instruction on this site ends in a purchase. Where paid software genuinely adds something, the guide says what it adds and leaves the decision alone.
No product is ranked or scored
Comparing security software honestly needs a test lab. There is no table here, because a table we could not defend would be worse than none.
No figures we cannot stand behind
No percentages, no threat counts, no survey results. Most of the numbers in security marketing trace back to whoever was selling something.
Steps you can finish
Every guide is scoped to one sitting. Where something takes longer than that, it says so at the top rather than at step nine.